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Civil War Begins
The Civil War began when Confederates bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. It was fought all over the country but the major states were Virginia and Tennesse. Approximately 620,000 soldiers died during the war. -
Lincoln Signed the Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1st of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order. This executive order was called the Emancipation Proclamation. This document stated that the 3 million African Americans that were enslaved in the South were now free. -
Civil War Ends
Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate forces, signs the surrender terms offered by the Union Negotiators. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted on July 9th of 1868. It gives citizenship rights and equal protection of the law to African Americans. It was proposed in reponse to issues related to former slaves following the Civil War. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court decision allowing public facilities to seperate races. Stated that as long as they were both equal, they could be kept seperate. Ruled public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal." -
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court declared segregated schools to be unconstituional. Public schools were then supposed to be integrated. The Warren Court decided that "separate educational facilities were inherently unequal." -
Emmett Till
The Story of Emmett Till
14 year old Emmett Till is lynched in Mississippi after reportedly flirting with a white girl. He was abducted by the girl's husband and his half-brother and beaten and mutilated. His body was found three days later in a river. -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks Mini Bio
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on December 1st of 1955. This started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This lasted many months and the city then had no choice but to lift the law that required segregation on buses. -
MLK Chosen To Lead Boycott
Martin Luther Kind Jr. is chosen by Montgomery Improvement Association as president to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott Victory
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The city declares segregation on buses illegal. -
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine
A group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School. Many people protested this and wanted to keep schools segregated. -
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
Four college students do lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. -
"I Have A Dream"
"I Have A Dream" Speech
Over a quarter of a million people hear MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech while participating in the March on Washington. -
16th Street Church Bombing
The church bombing was an act of white supremacist terrorism. Four members of the Klu Klux Klan put five sticks of dynamite underneath church steps. -
MLK Is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King Junior is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize by the Nobel Foundation.
